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On 1 October, I attended EAUC member ifs University College's Financial Sustainability Symposium in London. The day programme was packed with inspiring speakers from those working in financial sustainability and sustainable business.
There was a short welcome and introduction from Darran Messem, ...

A report on sustainability in tertiary education has been released today (12th October 2015) by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC), National Union of Students (NUS), University and College Union (UCU), Association of Colleges (AoC) and the College Development Network....

Recent reports show that around three-quarters of England’s universities are set to miss their 2020 carbon reduction targets.
Iain Patton, Chief Executive of the EAUC, has said, "The findings in the latest Brite Green report outline the dilemma the university sector faces in meeting its car...

In partnership with the EAUC and supported by the AoC, Salix has announced a further round of 100% interest free funding for energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects in Further Education (FE) Colleges in England and Wales. Applications will be accepted from now through to January 2016.
Sal...

Following the AUDE and EAUC consultation, attached to this email are the notes from ARUP relating to the development of the Green Scorecard which is scoped around university estates and facilities environmental aspects. The first document is an explanation of how the scorecard can be used and the s...

University of Gloucestershire Students’ Union delivered Big Green Gap Year (BiGGY) Summer Placements 2015 in July and August 2015 piloting a sustainability themed placements programme. This built on the original idea of a community engagement/ citizen service lobbied for by James Derounian, se...

The collective voice of the world’s universities, colleges and students will be heard at COP21 when the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Paris, France during the first week of December.
A global alliance of tertiary and higher education sustainability networks today j...

The EAUC’s strategic partner, rootAbility, has been announced as one of the first winners of the UNESCO-Japan Prize for outstanding projects related to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
The UNESCO-Japan Prize was established to honour outstanding efforts of individuals, instituti...

The University of Edinburgh and Biffa are using their influence to help Scotland deliver its Zero Waste agenda. Staff and students are working with waste and recycling partner Biffa to reduce, re-use and recycle.
Through relationships built across departments and with the local community sector, ...

A research report published this week, demonstrates the value of Government loan funding in ensuring that public sector energy-efficiency projects which otherwise would not have sufficient capital to progress are able to go ahead. This funding is delivered by Government funded organisation, Salix Fi...

Brite Green has released its second progress report on carbon reductions in English universities. The report aims to offer robust, independent analysis of the emissions trends in the sector and provide institutions with tailored information about their performance to help them achieve their reductio...

Over the last decade the higher education sector has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable development, aligning with global efforts to combat climate change by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
The Higher Education Carbon Challenge report has been release...

On 7-8 September 2015, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England hosted a symposium looking at the future of Education for Sustainable Development. The focus of the event was on how to best enable students to make a difference to sustainability, and featured a range of inte...

The EAUC is a Member-led organisation. We represent you, and ensure that your views on topical issues are conveyed to the rest of the sector and to the Government. One important way we can do this is by responding to consultations from the Government and other organisations.
Background Informat...

ACTS is delighted to announce the finalist candidates for the 2015 Green Gown Awards Australasia, including the inaugural Built Environment and Leadership Awards and the ACTS Awards of Excellence. ACTS are extremely proud to acknowledge a wide range of amazing sustainability initiatives this year, ...

The EAUC welcomes the update from AUDE (below) on the development of an Estates-focused Green Scorecard in response to the agreement we both have with People and Planet. Background information on this can be viewed at http://www.eauc.org.uk/people_planet_green_league.
We are aware that it is uncl...

For the fifth consecutive year, the National Union of Students has worked with the Higher Education Academy to ask students about their attitudes towards sustainable development.
The results show that 80 per cent of students have said that they want their institutions to be doing more on sustaina...

The IARU Global University Climate Forum is a one-day workshop on 5 December in Paris during the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations (COP21) where student teams from around the world will present their ideas for local-scale projects that will yield measureable impacts over the c...

Salix Finance has received applications for over £3m of interest-free loans for 32 new energy efficiency projects across 24 Colleges in England, predicted to save over £11m over the project’s lifetime.
In partnership with the EAUC and the Association of Colleges (AoC), Salix launched the se...

We are urging Members to respond to this call as an important opportunity for the education sector to ensure sustainability is kept on the Government’s agenda.
The 2015-20 period will be crucial for ensuring the Government continues to promote sustainable development, with many key policies...

The National Union of Students (NUS) is carrying out Freedom of Information (FOI) requests relating to investments by universities. This will inform a broader campaign that the NUS intends to run next academic year linking divestment to re-investment in renewable technologies and on-campus renewable...

The Department of Energy and Climate Change recntly launched consultations on Changes to Feed-in Tariff Accreditation and Changes to Financial Support for Solar PV.
Consultation on Changes to Financial Support for Solar PV
This consultation proposed to control the costs of new solar PV projec...

In the EAUC-Scotland’s July bulletin we called on the HE/FE community to 'Tell us your Triumphs!' and to get in touch with great projects and amazing work that was going on.
University of the West of Scotland (UWS) were quick to respond with the exciting news that they have recently won two...

The Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 has enabled the Scottish Ministers to give the Scottish Environment Proctection Agency (SEPA) the power to impose fixed and variable monetary penalties and accept enforcement undertakings (the enforcement measures). The enforcement measures form part of the ...

The CIBSE Building Performance Awards are celebrating their 10th year recognising the people, products, projects and initiatives that are setting new standards for buildings performance both within the UK and overseas.
This year, recognising the diversity of buildings, 5 categories for new build ...

CIBSE's sixth annual Technical Symposium will be taking place at Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh from 14-15 April 2016. It aims to encourage the participation of both young and experienced industry practitioners, universities, research organisations, industry and others to share experiences and de...

The new Environmental Audit Committee has launched its first inquiry of the parliament and is calling for evidence on the government’s approach to sustainable development.
Evidence received for this inquiry will feed into the Committees work over the course of this Parliament. Responses are...

New study delves into the student experience and how important university facilities are
Research released today shows that facilities are key for two thirds (67%)* of UK students when choosing university. As expected, course (79%) and location (69%) were marginally more important with reputati...

Transforming UK Tertiary Education towards a Sustainable Future
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
Social, economic and environmental sustainability in further and higher education is now a critical agenda to the long term value and viability of the Tertiary Education sector. The EAUC is the lead b...

The first year of the SAVES project has come to an end and with it the Student Switch Off campaigns for the academic year 2014/2015. The SAVES project encourages 25,000 students living in dormitories in five partner countries (UK, Sweden, Greece, Cyprus and Lithuania) to save energy by means of simp...

The University of the West of England (UWE) have developed ‘Our Green City: Global Challenges, Bristol Solutions’, a free, six week online course.
This course will provide an overview of the current environmental and social challenges faced by cities across the world and the solutions...

The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) announced at their Annual Conference in London that it has launched a partnership programme with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). This will look to enable UK universities and colleges to put sustainability at the core of their catering operati...

The University of East London (UEL) has launched a new project to reduce the amount of energy used by IT storage.
This project EURECA (Enabling information re-Use by linking clinical REsearch and Care) focuses on developing more sustainable procurement of data centres. It is supported by a consor...

EAUC Member South Lanarkshire College has won an award for embedding sustainability and social responsibility into their curriculum.
13 institutions across the UK took part in the Responsible Futures pilot this year, all demonstrating their commitment to creating an environment for education for ...

Leading professional Organisation for in house caterers, The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO) were celebrating last night, after watching its Chair take home the prestigious Public Sector Caterer of the Year Award at the Cateys, in London.
Amidst an air of anticipation Julie Barker, also D...

The EAUC is delighted and proud to announce the Green Gown Awards’ finalists for 2015 - all vying for the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the tertiary education sector.
Our judges have recognised 85 motivational and inspiring sustainability projects representing 51 educ...

The 2015 S-Lab Conference will be held at the University of Leeds on 16-17 September. It is a unique not-for-profit initiative that showcases global best practice and improvement in laboratory design, operation and management.
Many of the conference sessions will be based on the 40 shortlisted ap...

Daniel O’Connor, Warp It
I spend my life implementing reuse and repair mechanisms within organisations, so that they can get maximum value from their surplus assets.
There are many things that decrease the potential for reuse, but the number one reason is that reuse is not given the prio...

In partnership with the Department for Education and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Salix is launching a research pilot project for a limited amount of state-maintained schools across England. The schools selected to take part in the pilot will receive a comprehensive energy and carbo...

Solar Independence Day annual celebrations will be held on Friday 3rd -Saturday 4th July this year. The Solar Trade Association events have been organised for all round the UK to celebrate and show case the innovative and growing sector. The annual event is a chance for communities, school, farms a...

Wild swimming, sacred fires, stargazing, unwinding, space to think, to be, to connect, to know who you truly are, to discover what you want to do in these times when you can’t look away from the world around us, to really hear and be heard, to feel nourished and be with like-minded people in...

Congratulations to those who won the NUS Green Impact Awards. Green Impact special awards celebrate the most incredible things happening in sustainability across universities and colleges.
David Somervell, University of Edinburgh, won the first ever Green Impact Lifetime Achievement Award. Click ...

Now in its 12th year Recycle Week 2015 is set to take place next week (22-28 June). This year's focus is on ‘recycling around the home’, raising the public’s awareness that there are lots of items that they can recycle from all around the home.
It is a celebration of everything ...

Time is running out to apply for the second round of Salix funding which demonstrates real commitment to sustainability in the Further Education sector.
In a partnership between Salix Finance and the EAUC, and supported by the Association of Colleges, £5 million of interest-free funding has been ...

Cambridge Regional College's ongoing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint has enabled it to gain renewal of its ISO 14001 certification - a recognition of its outstanding practice in energy-saving management.
The college has installed LED lighting throughout its buildings – saving £1...

The University of Winchester has won a gold award in the Carbon Smart environment awareness scheme run by Winchester City Council.
It was one of the first to sign up to Winchester City Council’s Carbon Smart initiative when it was launched in 2012, as an incentive for businesses to reduce t...

The overall international SAVES winner for 2014-15 has just been announced. It is Teme's halls from the University of Worcester!
This project looked at how much electricity was saved over the 2014-15 academic year at each of the participating dormitories. It was calculated by comparing electricit...

On 9 July, ENVISION are inviting businesses and enterprises from the UK and across Europe to join them for a free, half day workshop, which has been designed to help them move towards a low carbon and sustainable economy through research partnerships.
ENVISION brings together six of the UK’...

The EAUC have been invited to attend British Parking Association President's Reception on Monday 29 June. We are delighted to say that Simon Earp of the University of Greenwich has agreed to represent the EAUC.
It will take place at the House of Commons Terrace Pavilion in Westminster and the rec...

The pilot group of Responsible Futures students' unions and institutions have been nominated for the first ever UNESCO-Japan prize for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).
Working in partnership between universities, colleges and students’ unions, Responsible Futures offers a framew...

A new linking tool has enabled schools and colleges to identify their National Network for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO). This may be useful for our college Members looking to build sustainability links with local schools.
The HEFCE-funded network co-ordinates the outreach of partner institutions...

The University of Dundee is fast earning itself a name for sustainable transport, operating what we believe is the largest electric vehicle (EV) fleet within the Scottish Higher Education sector.
Following their most recent delivery, which was supported by £70,000 in funding from Transport Scotla...

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) together with two of its partner universities across the GUPES Europe region (Global Universities Partnership on Environment and Sustainability) has recently started providing innovative online learning through Massive Open Online Course (MOOC).
Th...

A global water saving initiative has been launched at world-renowned Pinewood Studios. It has received backing from leading research experts at the University of Oxford and BRE and regulators OFWAT and The Environment Agency.
AquaMark is a national water benchmarking grant scheme for the UK and i...

We are pleased to inform you that the celebration of the biggest day for positive environmental action is fast approaching! June 5th is the World Environment Day (WED). World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the e...

The Environment Agency has issued a clarification note for members. It explains how funding for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is classified in the determination of contracting authority (public body) status. In turn this information will help to determine the qualification status of each HE...

On 5 June, the biggest day for environmental action and mobilisation will take place - World Environment Day (WED). Through a global platform, the United Nations’ principal vehicle seeks to encourage worldwide environmental awareness and galvanise the collective power of the people to have a p...

Ten reasons to build resilience into the future of your university
The EAUC is here to support our Members and today we have launched a new Business Guide for University Governors.
Make sure you share this guide with your sustainability committees and Executive teams to ensure your Governors ...

Last Friday, EAUC Gold Company Member Lucideon held a sustainability workshop at their Stoke headquarters. The aim of the workshop was to explore and capitalise on aspects of sustainability in order to gain a competitive edge.
There was a short welcome and introduction from Tony Kinsella, CEO, Lu...

After an extensive consultation process The University of Edinburgh has committed to a change in its policy on fossil fuel investment.
It will use its research activities and its commitment to responsible investment to work with companies, focusing specifically on the highest carbon fossil fuel e...

Applications for the sixth, annual Green Gown Awards Australasia launched today.
These Awards are open to all tertiary education institutions, including universities, TAFE, Polytechnic and RTO’s within and outside Australasia, as well as third party organisations and multi partner teams wit...

Are you involved in a sustainability campaign or initiative that is transforming sustainability in tertiary education and beyond? Are you leading in innovation, research or engagement? Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) invites you to join them for their 15th International ACTS Annu...

Today sees the launch of the 2015 French speaking edition of the Green Gown Awards – Les Trophées des campus responsables.
This is the 2nd year of the French speaking Awards and this year they have been extended to include French speaking institutions in Canada, as well as France, Belgium, ...

Very few young people working in UK HE are being championed as they should be. So, this year University Business are launching the Young Leaders Awards to recognise the inspirational and dedicated under-30s working at and in partnership with universities across the UK.
To nominate your young star...

*UPDATE*
EAUC Scotland has submitted a sector response for universities and colleges after collating feedback from meetings, forums and personal feedback from institutions. The sector response can be found to download at the bottom of the page. The consultation closes Friday 29th May, following ...

The world’s most prominent networks for sustainability in further and higher education convened on 25 March 2015 at the EAUC Annual Conference at the University of Leeds.
With the theme of 'Challenging Connections', the EAUC Conference provided a formal stage for all of the voices in the te...

35 teams across the UK were brought together to participate in the Enactus UK National Competition. The two day event (13-14 April) featured 800 university students who were asked to showcase their flagship community outreach projects to a dynamic group of business leaders. Students were judged on h...

A partnership between six higher education purchasing consortia in England is helping institutions achieve their sustainability targets through collaboration on national frameworks.
Procurement England Limited (PEL) is made up of The Universities Catering Organisation (TUCO), The Energy Consortiu...

On 22 April it’s Earth Day's 45th anniversary. First organised in 1970 and now with 1 billion people in 192 countries expected to participate it is remarkably one of the largest global movements in the world. Under the theme "it’s our turn to lead" this year’s edition calls upon ci...

The Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges across the UK. The Awards, established in 2004, are the most prestigious recognition of best practice within the tertiary education sector.
We are looking to sustainable busine...

An eco-friendly cycle sharing scheme for Edinburgh’s colleges and universities was officially unveiled in Edinburgh on 31 March.
This eCycle initiative has been developed in partnership with six of the city’s leading colleges and universities, Edinburgh College, Edinburgh Napier Unive...

Following the very successful Award Ceremony and 10th year celebration of the Champions of the Earth in November last year, the call for nominations for the 2015 Champions of the Earth Award has recently been launched.
The Awards seeks to recognise outstanding visionaries and environmental heroes...

In partnership with Salix Finance, the EAUC is delighted to announce the release of a second Fund of £5 million for energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects in Further Education (FE) colleges in England and Wales.
We have faced the challenges to the sector, including further education, with ...

Maria wakes up in her dormitory room. She switches on a few lamps that she prefers to the natural, all-too-bright Cypriot sun. She turns the heating up to the maximum to be able to wear a summer top inside, and then switches on the computer and the radio, just to leave the room a minute later. Sudde...

In the last week the EAUC has officially become a Network Supporter of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). We are also delighted to tell you that PRI are now a partner on the Sustainability Exchange. In the future we will be sharing materials, engagement tools and best practice case stu...

Blog post written by Emma-Louise Aston, Member Events and Communities Officer, EAUC.
On 12 March, Keele University SU held the third annual sustainable fashion show and I was delighted to attend. At the 2014 Green Gown Awards, Keele University Students’ Union were finalists for their commit...

With the Guardian University Awards ceremony set to take place in London tomorrow night, we offer an overview of some of the shortlisted entries across the 14 categories.
The awards look to highlight best practice and offer universities the opportunity to showcase their inspiring projects and inn...

The EAUC has listened to the need for more challenging leadership and content and this year we have looked wider, internationally, globally, to business and to the next leaders: students. In challenging ourselves we’ve gained a clear picture of what next generation leadership looks like.
We...

To celebrate more than two decades of the Journal of Cleaner Production, Elsevier will play host to the Global Cleaner Production & Sustainable Consumption Conference.
It is set to be held in Barcelona during the start of November (1-4). The conference is entitled "Accelerating the Transition to ...

The European Funding Guide is a new online platform which helps students find money for their education. This is the largest portal in Europe encompassing more than 12,000 scholarships, grants, awards and prizes worth 27 billion Euros. 4,000 of these financial aid option are specifically targeted at...

The International Sustainable Campus Excellence Award applications should be initially submitted online by 16 March 2015.
Over 180 nominations have been received from universities and colleges worldwide since the launch of the awards programme in 2009. The awards recognise sustainable campus pro...

The EAUC is a Member-led organisation. We represent you, and ensure that your views on topical issues are conveyed to the rest of the sector and to the Government. One important way we can do this is by responding to consultations from the Government and other organisations.
Are you affected by the...

Early bird registration for this year’s International Campus Sustainability Network Conference (17-19 June) opens from today.
Hosted by the University of Hong Kong, the conference entitled "Expanding the Dialogue: Sustainability in a Connected World" will address themes such as the challeng...

The Diamond Review Phase II: Efficiency and Effectiveness in Higher Education Report launched this week shows that over the last three years, universities in England have delivered estimated efficiencies totalling more than £1 billion. Since 2005, efficiency gains from better use of university space...

This year’s most sustainable restaurants in the UK were announced at the annual Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) Awards ceremony in London. Now in its fourth year, the 2015 awards which took place on Monday at the Oval Space look to celebrate and honour those organisations driving forw...

We are inviting all of our Educational Members to have a say in who represents them on the Board of Trustees. To ensure every Member can have a voice we use Electoral Reform Services (ERS) to undertake the voting which means you can vote online – it is quick, easy and secure. Every Member Key ...

The EAUC Annual Conference 2015, 'Challenging Connections', will provide a formal stage for all of the voices in the tertiary education sector so that they can inspire and challenge one another, and forge new connections.
We know that we will be more powerful and effective together and collabor...

What is Fairtrade?
When you buy products with the FAIRTRADE Mark, you support farmers and workers as they work to improve their lives and their communities. The Mark means that the Fairtrade ingredients in the product have been produced by small-scale farmer organisations or plantations that meet F...

The UK’s first community owned school biomass boiler will have its grand opening take place on Saturday 28 February at John Cleveland College. It will be hosted by John Cleveland College Community Woodheat Co-operative in partnership with the Green Fox Community Energy Co-operative.
A commu...

An international report has just been released by the International Council for Science which provides an expert commentary on the proposed 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
Stephen Sterling, Professor of Sustainability Education, Plymouth University was asked to write the section on Goal 4 Ens...

The first French speaking Green Gown Awards Ceremony took place on 10 February at Kedge Business School in Paris. The Ceremony was preceded with the Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, presenting the goals of Education for Sustainable Development. T...

In the run up to Pass it on Week 2015 (7-15 March) Zero Waste Scotland has produced a number of resources for you to take advantage of during the week. The aim of the week is to encourage people to get involved in re-using as much as possible. It could be through swapping, repairing, upcycling or bu...

As part of the ISCN 2015 Conference, the International Campus Sustainability Network is seeking cutting-edge contributions relevant to the three respective Working Group topics:
Working Group 1: Sustainable buildings and user behaviour
Working Group 2: Climate preparedness and other ca...

In early February the EAUC North-West England group Convenor, Pam Reynolds asked the group what their plans for Green Week 2015 were.
A number of institutions have kindly shared their plans and promotional tools that are in use currently.
> Liverpool Guild of Students
> University of Manch...

The EAUC is a Member-led organisation. We represent you, and ensure that your views on topical issues are conveyed to the rest of the sector and to the Government. One important way we can do this is by responding to consultations from the Government and other organisations.
The EAUC has been lob...

The EAUC Annual Conference 2015 has been featured in Campus Estates Management's Winter 2015 edition.
The three page spread shares the details of the Conference which aims to inspire delegates to challenge their connections. Over 3 days, we'll explore how a whole new level of creativity, innovat...

EAUC-Scotland are pleased to announce the launch of a new project to review Scottish university carbon management plans (CMPs) to assess if they are likely to meet their targets outlined until 2020 and is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The objective of this project is to provide in...

We are excited to present the 2 UK institutions with their International Green Gown Awards. Hull College won the Social Responsibility Award for their inspiring project to transform derelict properties and Manchester Metropolitan University won the Student Engagement Award for their passionate stude...

For Fairtrade Fortnight 2015, the EAUC Fair Trade Community of Practice (CoP) would like to share some mini case studies on fair trade in educational institutions. If you can contribute to this, could you or someone from your institution please fill in this one page form (just 2 questions, and keep ...

At London’s historic Guildhall, the EAUC were invited to celebrate the winner of the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize and the six talented finalists of the 2014 Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards.
Delivered in partnership with the Universit...